Abducted Latvian Pilots in Sudan are Unhurt

Sudanese militants, who abducted three Latvian pilots employed by the group, have spoken with the U.N. World Food Programme officials the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

The three Latvian pilots kidnapped were unhurt and are not in need of medical assistance, reported by the officials who spoke with the pilots.

Pilots were abducted November 5 in the South Darfur City of Nyala. Eight militants grabbed the pilots in a car as they walked in a Nyala neighborhood.

The three Latvian were first reported to be Russian by Sudan’s state-run news network but that was proved incorrect.

The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels drew strength. According to the United Nations, Western governments and human rights organizations, Arab militias with ties to the Sudanese government went from village to village in Darfur to counter the rebels and do the killing, torturing and raping the residents there said.

In the conflict in Darfur, over 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million fled their homes, as estimated by the United Nations. But Sudan denies that the death toll is that high already.

An arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court for Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudanese President accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He denies the charges.

After rebels began an uprising against the Sudanese government, Darfur has been beset by conflict since 2003.

To help secure the pilots’ release, representatives of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Counterterrorism Center of the Security Police are in Sudan.

The ministry said, the pilots’ families were notified of the phone conversation with World Food Programme officials.